Due to the trend towards westernization resulting from economic development, people increasingly consume livestock products. However, people have negative opinions of livestock foodstuffs because of the content of animal fat. The intake of animal fat is known to be one of the main causes of arteriosclerosis, which is a disease of the circulatory system. Particularly, cholesterol is known as a main cause of arteriosclerosis.
As people's interest in their health increases, there have been developed and made commercially available various health foods for the purpose of preventing adult diseases such as obesity, arteriosclerosis, etc. and promoting healthy lifestyles. To keep pace with this trend, the livestock industry produces “healthful meat” by incorporating various herbal remedies, antibiotics and the like into feedstuff for domestic animals.
However, the antibiotics added to the feedstuff for domestic animals cannot be completely digested nor eliminated from their bodies for at least 2 to 3 months after intake. Therefore, if the domestic animals are slaughtered and consumed prior to the clearance period of drug, the residual antibiotics in the animals can attenuate the immune responses of a body which has consumed the meat of the animals. Also, plasmids which are genetic materials responsible for mediating resistance to antibiotics in microbes can be transferred to another microbes through conjugation. In this manner, as the number of microbes having a resistance to antibiotics increases, the risk that such microbes will infect human bodies increases proportionately.
For this reason, recently, there has been raised concerns regarding the antibiotic resistant bacteria, as well as residual antibiotics in the bodies of the animals, and thus much research and studies are being conducted. Particularly, studies seeking for an endogenous substance in the body of animals which can activate the immune ability of the body, in place of antibiotics, are actively in progress.
In Korea, since a long time ago, silicate clay minerals such as kaolinite, zeolite, bentonite, vermiculite, etc. have been used in the agricultural and fisheries industry and for cleanup of the environment due to their characteristic properties. In the field of the livestock industry, such minerals are sometimes used to promote growth of animals, to improve digestion and feed efficiency, to control water content of excrement and to reduce its odor. Especially, it has been reported that the addition of zeolite to fodder has a favorable effect on characteristics of muscles and fats of pig and chicken (for example, see Pond et al. (1988); Hagedorn et al. (1990); and Kovar et al. (1990)).
Particularly, upon reviewing the results of research and studies which have been conducted so far regarding the addition of minerals to livestock fodder, for example, Son and Park (1997) reported that when growing chickens are fed with fodder containing 0.3% of elvan stone, water contents in excrements are reduced and nutrients contained in the fodder are effectively utilized. Kwon (1999) reported that when growing pigs are fed with fodder containing far infrared radioactive materials, weight gains of the animals are increased. Further, Yang (1999) reported that when growing and finishing pigs are fed with scoria, which is reddish brown colored and hardened lava that has retained the vesicles produced by escaping gases, a higher percentage of the pigs get a grade A rating of pigs.
For reference, biotite gneiss is porous in configuration with black speckles on a gray ground. Its specific ingredients include various oxides including silicon dioxide (SiO2), aluminum dioxide (Al2O3), iron oxide (Fe2O3), calcium oxide (CaO), magnesium oxide (MgO), Titanium oxide (TiO2), phosphorus pentoxide (P2O5), potassium oxide (K2O), sodium oxide (Na2O), manganese trioxide (MnO3) and it further has a high far infrared ray emissivity of 93%. Also, this mineral can absorb odors and moisture, and purify water through ion exchange. In particular, it can absorb and remove harmful heavy metals, such as those which are injurious to bodies, including cadmium, mercury, lead, etc, by ion control action, thereby providing antidotal effects.
Germanium is a silvery-gray metall able to radiate far infrared rays. This metall is known to enhance the immune system and inhibit tumor cell growth by stimulating production of interferon. Also, it is known to have a deodorizing capability versus gases injurious to human or animals. Therefore, it is expected that germanium can be used in elements for building construction and as an absorbent of ammonia gas in a pigsty.
Thus, the present invention is made on the basis of the above described matters and the object of the present invention is to provide an antibiotic-free fodder composition for domestic animals comprising a basal diet commonly used in the livestock industry and a predetermined amount of germanium biotite ground into powder. The fodder composition can produce “healthful meat” without containing antibiotics, which is good for preventing various adult diseases.